FROM DC COMICS: "Witness the historic start of the final chapter in the Crisis trilogy that could only spring from the mind of Grant Morrison — FINAL CRISIS, featuring stunning art by J.G. Jones (52 Covers)! Worlds will live and heroes will die in this epic tale spanning the beginning and end of the DC Universe!

The entire Multiverse is threatened as the mysterious Libra assembles an army of the DCU's most terrifying super villains. But what is the ultimate plan, and who will live to find out?"

Four years have passed since this was all set in motion. Brad Meltzer's IDENTITY CRISIS, the "personal threat," took the DC Universe and turned it on its head. Not long after, the event that "put the greatest odds against the heroes," Geoff Johns' INFINITE CRISIS, showed the resiliency and determination of the DC Characters by facing down a multiversal threat.

Then, the COUNTDOWN began (poorly, I might add), and fans everywhere begged the question, "what's it counting down to?" Well, the clock hit zero weeks ago. And now it's here.

The road to "the day that evil won" has made its last stop: Grant Morrison's FINAL CRISIS.

A lot happened in issue #1, and in order to make it as spoiler free as possible, I'll try and condense the events as much as I can.

The namesake of DEATH OF THE NEW GODS was witnessed in that mini-series, but FINAL CRISIS shows us that out of death can spring rebirth in unexpected places. When Green Lanterns Hal Jordan and John Stewart come across one of the dead ones, however, it's a very big deal. A code 1011, which they've never responded to due to its rarity: Deicide.

Elsewhere, the villain Libra has joined the Secret Society and promises that he can fulfill their heart's desire. How does he show this?

Quite simply: The murder of one of the founding members of the Justice League of America. If you've looked at other sites, you probably know who it is. It's so sudden that it's hard to fully process until the issue's last page, when we see one hero react angrily. I was saddened quite a bit, and hope to see some retribution leveled in Libra's direction.

We were able to get a glimpse of the Monitors for the first time since COUNTDOWN, and they were pissed that Universe-51 was decimated by Superboy-Prime. So, they take some disciplinary action on it's Monitor that's pretty wild to see, and also gives some insight into their growing individuality.

Back to the unexpected rebirth of some New Gods, we meet a man named "Boss Dark Side," who has kidnapped children that have now grown "beyond redemption." A real “CHILDREN OF THE CORN” moment.”

And, as usual, The Dark Knight has the most insightful things to say at a JLA meeting.

Overall, I was impressed. J.G. Jones is doing the best work of his career. This, of course, was an issue of pure setup and nobody should've really expected otherwise. I saw a lot of complaints online along the lines of, "it was too slow!" Or, "They didn't jump right into the story!"

That's not what the first chapter in any story is for, folks. This puts us on the path to the day that evil wins, but beyond that, it feels like one of the most epic stories I've had the pleasure of reading in years.

GRADE: B+ (A Must-Read)

NEXT ISSUE: Batman's being crucified on the cover, and a hero returns from the dead…let there be lightning.